A blog about life with dogs. We present health tips, activities, inspirational stories about dogs and owners.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

A Tail of Two Dog Friendly California Cities

We woke up early Saturday and as we
were perusing Facebook with coffee - we came across some information that
changed our plans for the day. Jessi and I live outside of downtown Sacramento,
just a quick 10-minute drive to central downtown or a five-minute walk to the
river, depending on what we are looking for. Today, we decided to head out to
the neighboring city of Davis because the college was having their popular (at
least locally) plant sale. Their student nursery is right next to the U.C.
Davis Arboretum, a place I’ve wanted to explore,
but never made the time. Today was the day.

We jumped in the car and took the
20-minute drive out to Davis, stopping for coffee at the local Dutch Bros (a
favorite West Coast coffee stop) where Jessi got lots of attention, much to her
excitement. When we arrived at the plant sale it was mildly busy and incredibly
well organized.

Like most of Davis, the campus is very dog friendly and Jessi
and I walked around looking for some new and interesting plants for the yard.
After making a couple of selections we walked back to the car and tucked away
our purchases. With the shopping done, it was now time to play!

The Arboretum is right next to the
nursery so we walked on over and were amazed! The paths are a mix of tiny
crushed rock and paved options with gazebos, tree groves, gardens and several
big expanses of lawn. Lots of squirrels running around to draw Jessi’s
attention and adoring walkers who like to stop and chat - with the offering of
lots of ear scratches and pets. Jessi loves making new friends when we go out
so we spend a lot of time stopping and talking with people.

After spending an hour wandering
around, it was time to head back to Sacramento to meet up with friends for
brunch at one of our favorite spots.Just half a block from Capitol Park, de Vere’s
has a patio that runs across the front of the restaurant that makes it great
for people watching while enjoying time with friends.

Jessi made the rounds to say hi to
everyone before settling down to alternately watch passersby and nap. By the
time we were ready to leave she was ready to spend some time in Capitol Park,
which is one of my favorite places -- even after working downtown for years.

The Capitol is planted with native
California trees, shrubs and flowers – there are citrus trees interspersed with
redwoods and interesting shrubs.

Around the Capitol we always keep an
eye out for a sighting of the First Dog of California Sutter Brown. This time
we didn’t expect to see Sutter as he continues to recover from a serious
surgery. With the whole state pulling for him he has recently returned home and
we hope to see him out on walks as he continues to get better!

We took a few extra minutes in the
rose garden that sits along 16th street and is my personal favorite,
although Jessi was not as fascinated with the varieties in color and type as I
was. As we wandered back to the car, I realized we don’t spend nearly enough
time downtown together – often choosing to go out to the Auburn trails or
spending our time on the miles of riverfront trails that are close to our house
or even going on trips up north to visit family.

We had a really fun time trying
something new and meeting up with friends to share the stories or our
adventure. We always look forward to trying out some of the new places that
keep popping up as Sacramento continues to expand its farm to fork movement.

Kaitlyn MacGregor is a dog-loving communications
professional and a Sacramento native.She and Jessi, her 10 year old springer spaniel mix Jess take advantage
of the California capitol’s dog friendly venues and great weather!